Month: June 2018

The construction union, E tū says it is awaiting the detail of plans to expedite the employment by local building firms, of skilled construction workers from overseas.

The Government says the plan will favour firms with good work practices and a commitment to hiring local workers. There will also be specific rules for labour hire firms to gain accreditation to bring in foreign workers, in a bid to prevent exploitation.

E tū’s Construction Industry Coordinator, Ron Angel says there is no mention of any requirement for firms to take on apprentices and to train local workers.

“They talk about firms needing a commitment to employ Kiwis as well as good work practices, but what does that mean?

“Right now, with some of the accredited schemes, there is already a training requirement, so they say, ‘Oh right, let’s do a Site Safe training course.’ Well, that’s not training,” says Ron.

“We want a requirement to take on apprentices. It must be absolute – not a commitment. For example, if you bring in ten migrant workers, you need to take on one apprentice.

“In the Christchurch rebuild, so many firm didn’t employ Kiwis – they just went overseas to find people. It was hopeless.”

Ron says the union also wants to know how labour hire firms will be constrained from exploiting migrant workers.

“What are the specific rules for giving these firms accreditation? In my view, there should be easy access to unions, as well as wage and time records to ensure migrant workers are paid correctly.”

Ron says a fast-track dispute process is also needed.

“When migrant workers have a problem, they are often afraid their visa will be revoked if they try to address it. They need better protection and options for where they can go,” he says.

About 150 workers at Wairarapa company, Premier Bacon will begin industrial action just after midnight tonight (12.01am Tuesday, 26 June) in support of their pay claims.

The workers will refuse all overtime until the matter is resolved, says E tū Lead Organiser, Mark James.

“The company depends on our members doing overtime, as the plant is healthy and doing good business,” says Mark.

Mark says the total cost of meeting the members’ claims is about $118,000 – compared with company profits for the year to December, 2017 of $5.55 million.

The members are seeking a pay rise of 75 cents an hour, as well as an additional day’s sick leave, and an additional day of bereavement leave.

“Our members work in a cold, damp environment with temperatures below 4 degrees, so they get sick more often,” says Mark.

“And because they work with food, they may be required to stay away from work if they catch a bug – and some must do this when they have no sick leave left.

“Our members need just a tiny portion of Premier Bacon’s profit to meet these claims,” he says.

“By contrast, the company is investing about $15 million in expansion plans. Our claim is worth just 1.6 percent of that amount. Workers are Premier Bacon’s biggest asset and they should be respected.”

A rare and frightening aviation emergency has ended with crew and passengers safe, after Air New Zealand flight NZ5018’s engine malfunctioned mid-flight.

The engine failure happened shortly after the Napier-Auckland flight took off this afternoon. It touched down safely shortly after.

E tū Head of Aviation Anita Rosentreter has been monitoring the situation and says that the most important thing is that the passengers and crew are safe.

“We are deeply relieved that this incident has ended with a safe landing,” Anita says.

“This will have been a scary experience for the crew and passengers on board. Although this incident will be the subject of a rigorous process to find out exactly what happened, the most important thing for now is that the plane is safely on the tarmac.

“We will be ensuring that our members affected by this emergency have all the support needed to deal with the aftermath.”

Anita says there will be many questions about how this incident occurred and that the union will be closely involved in the process from here.

“We don’t have any further details at this early stage, but we will be representing our members every step of the way.

“Union participation is a vital part of getting health and safety right in any workplace. We are pleased that our relationship with the company means we can work constructively together to minimise risks and respond appropriately when things go wrong.

“This emergency has not become an aviation disaster. I think that’s a huge testament to the crew onboard. One passenger has already been reported in the media saying the flight attendants were ‘brilliant, calm, and reassuring.’ I think that’s the mark of an excellent workforce.”

E tū welcomes the setting up of the working group on Fair Pay Agreements.

E tū’s National Director of Campaigns, Annie Newman says today’s announcement is the fulfilment of a key election promise to workers, who need greater support for their pay and conditions.

FPAs would set basic standards for pay and conditions across an entire industry, through collective bargaining by businesses and unions.

“The stories in the media every day revealing workers being ripped off show that our current employment relations system is not working,” says Annie.

“Workers in small workplaces, especially in the service sector, have very little bargaining power. Even in industries where there are labour shortages, employers are too scared to lift their pay in case another employer undermines them,” she says.

“Fair Pay Agreements will set minimum standards for wages and conditions and will give these workers a real say in their minimum employment conditions.”

E tū Industry Co-ordinator Jill Ovens says a particular concern is the plight of vulnerable workers such as security guards.

“We have collective agreements with the bigger security companies that provide for hours of work, training, health and safety, protections of workers’ rights if they get into trouble, and so on.

“But these companies tell us they are constantly being undercut by cowboys in the industry who have a churn of guards on individual agreements.”

Jill says E tū is working with the Security Association to improve the professionalism of workers in the industry, but that means bringing the terms and conditions of these ‘bottom feeders’ into line.

She says government entities are prominent among those rewarding tenders which cut costs, including workers’ wages and hours to the bone, in “a race to the bottom”.

Annie Newman said employers’ doom and gloom rhetoric about FPAs should be discounted as they had wrongly told people they would pave the way for industrial unrest.

“There is no right to strike for an FPA and all Agreements will be negotiated collectively,” she says.

E tū has also welcomed the inclusion on the FPA team of E tū Assistant Secretary, John Ryall.